Four Fail Proof Methods to Create Habits that Stick

Feb 20, 2014

Habits are powerful creatures, aren't they?! Who has a bad habit(s) they want to break? How long have you wanted to or talked about breaking it? How about a good habit you'd love to make a part of your daily or weekly routine? Please share. What is that habit?

I have a healthy habit I'm going after; in bed by 10 pm. Yes!

Here to help us all get more sleep is Cyrus Khambatta of Mangoman Nutrition and Fitness. I had the pleasure of meeting Cyrus through a dear CAN CAN Cleanse client and friend (thank you, Daniela!). Cyrus brings his own life experiences, extensive studies in nutritional biochemistry, a solid understanding of the power of whole plant-based diet and a compassion for people to inspire and create habitual changes in the lives of his clients and those around him.

I'm delighted for him to share 4 powerful steps to changing your habits and creating new ones.

I'm sure ready to sleep more. How about you? Let's create good habits. Get excited! You CAN do it!

Cyurs will be sharing one step per day on our blog so please check back for Steps 2, 3 & 4.

-Teresa

Here's Cyrus!

Developing impeccable nutrition and fitness habits is a topic on many people’s mind. We all want to be in better shape. We all want to eat healthier. We all want to be in complete control of our lifestyle, and block difficult emotions from dictating our desires to eat poorly and watch more TV. Everywhere you look, the message is out: Eat healthier, play more, get more sunlight, sleep better, stress less. But when it comes to executing these seemingly simple ideas, most people struggle. Why? Because changing your habits temporarily places you outside of your comfort zone, which can often result in the desire to adopt unhealthy “familiar” habits.

Because of this large disconnect between what you know is good for you and what you actually do, developing habits is more of a mental exercise than it is physical. Stress, work and a busy social calendar are convenient excuses against the creation of new habits. But with the right system in place, these excuses disappear quickly.

In this article I’ll share with you the 4 most important aspects of creating new habits. This system has worked for me and many of my clients, and continues to be a very powerful method of instituting positive change. Becoming a habit master is only a few steps away.

Step 1: Don’t Bite off More Than You Can Chew

As a nutrition and fitness coach for busy individuals, I’ve come to recognize that the most important aspect of creating long-lasting habits is simple: don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you want to succeed at changing your lifestyle, change only one variable at a time.

Do you want to drink less coffee? Sleep more? Get to the gym 4 times per week? Pay more attention to people and less attention to your smartphone? These are all great ideas, but changing more than one at a time often leads to disaster.

On a piece of paper, list the habits you want to adopt over the next year of your life. It doesn’t matter how many there are – list them all. Next, rank them from high to low priority. Choose the highest priority habit on that list, and pretend like the others don’t exist.

Be sure that creating this habit is realistic. This is the habit you will now create.

Be sure to come back next time for Step 2: Be Consistent in Your Approach!